The Enola Gay and the secret history behd the Hiroshima missn - Washgton Post

Contents:

• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER 1945
• ENOLA GAY
• THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON
• THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB
• IN 1955 AN AMERIN TV SHOW DID THE UNTHKABLE: IT AMBHED A HIROSHIMA SURVIVOR WH AN ENOLA GAY PILOT
• MEMORI OF THE UN THAT HID THE ENOLA GAY, WHICH DROPPED THE A-BOMB ON HIROSHIMA 75 YEARS AGO TODAY
• HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• CONTROVERSY OVER THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBN
• HERE’S WHY THE PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS ABOUT DROPPG THE FIRST ATOM BOMB

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB

After the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. The Enola Gay is a B-29 Superfortrs, which pilot Pl Tibbets named after his mother, and which had been stripped of everythg but the necsi, so as to be thoands of pounds lighter than an ordary plane of that make.

While did not drop the bomb on Nagasaki, the Enola Gay did take flight to get data on the weather the lead-up to the send strike on Japan.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Army Air Forc flew the Enola Gay durg an atomic tt program the Pacific; was then livered to be stored an airfield Arizona before beg flown to Illois and transferred to the Smhsonian July 1949.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER 1945

But even unr the ctody of the mm, the Enola Gay remaed at an air force base Texas.

The Commtee for the Rtoratn and Display of the Enola Gay now has 9, 000 signatur of prott. Adams, who is leavg his job after 10 relatively ntroversy-ee years, sent back a three-page answer stiffly turng down her requt for the Enola Gay. Demonstrators prott at the Enola Gay exhib at the the Smhsonian Natnal Air and Space Mm's Steven F.

And as long as is on display, the qutns rais are likely to ntue — after all, they have been wh the Enola Gay sce first beme a hoehold name. On Augt 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the cy of Hiroshima, Japan. Augt 1945: The ground and flight crew of the B-29 bomber ‘Enola Gay’ at Tian the Mariana Islands, after the atomic bombg missn on Hiroshima.

ENOLA GAY

After pletg s missn, the Enola Gay returned to s base on Tian Island. On Augt 9, 1945, the Enola Gay flew aga.

The Enola Gay was stored at an airfield Arizona before beg flown to Illois. Cir 1945: The Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima durg World War II.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

The last time the Enola Gay flew was 1953. When opened, only displayed half of the Enola Gay. Enola Gay, the B-29bomber that was ed by the Uned Stat on Augt 6, 1945, to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the first time the explosive vice had been ed on an enemy target.

” The Enola Gay—Tibbets had a matenance man pat that name on the aircraft’s nose shortly before takeoff—was acpanied by var other plan. Tibbets flew the Enola Gay back to Tian, where he was award the Distguished Service Cross.

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

Three days later the Enola Gay nducted weather rennaissance the lead-up to the bombg of Nagasaki, Japan. Japan officially surrenred on September 2, Enola Gay remaed service for several years before beg given to the Smhsonian Instutn on July 3, 1949. In 2003 the fully rtored Enola Gay was put on display at the NASM’s Steven F.

Seventy-five years ago, the Uned Stat dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, brgg an end to a long and vastatg World War II and makg the Enola Gay, the B-29 that livered , one of the most famo history.

The Enola Gay, known only as No. He handpicked the plane the night before the missn, to the surprise of s crew, and had his mother’s name -- Enola Gay -- pated on s si. 6, 1945, the Enola Gay took off for Hiroshima, an important Japane ary center.

IN 1955 AN AMERIN TV SHOW DID THE UNTHKABLE: IT AMBHED A HIROSHIMA SURVIVOR WH AN ENOLA GAY PILOT

It was a moment for which none of the Enola Gay’s crew -- away by then, but still rocked by the blast -- was que prepared. What some don’t know is that the Enola Gay flew that missn, too. Some fly ahead to check the weather to see what ’s like at the actual target, and Enola Gay was part of that for Nagasaki, " Kney said.

After the bombgs and the war’s quick end, the Enola Gay remaed wh the Army Air Forc, takg part the Biki Atoll atomic tts before beg shipped to the Smhsonian 1960. The origal patg of the words “Enola Gay” n still be seen on s si. While no members of the crew that flew the Enola Gay rema to tell s story, the aircraft liv on for visors.

"Enola Gay is a regnized airplane of World War II, and people want to see , " Kney said. "They want to see the spachip Disvery, they want to see the [SR-71] Blackbird, and they want to see the Enola Gay. On Augt 6, 1945, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the cy of Hiroshima.

MEMORI OF THE UN THAT HID THE ENOLA GAY, WHICH DROPPED THE A-BOMB ON HIROSHIMA 75 YEARS AGO TODAY

"Colonel Ferebee died Florida 2000, at the age of Air Force radar specialist Jab Ber was the only man who served on both the Enola Gay the Hiroshima bombg missn and the Bock's Car three days later when s crew bombed Nagasaki. "Stiborik died of a heart attack 1984 at age Jeppson was only 23 years old when he was assigned to acpany the atomic bomb on the Enola Gay. Richard Nelson was the youngt of the Enola Gay crew.

"Nelson died om emphysema 2003 at age Gay tail gunner Bob Caron wrote a book about the missn lled Fire of a Thoand Suns. He was 75 years Duzenbury kept tabs on the Enola Gay's eng and other systems while others tend the bomb and the missn self. "Duzenbury died 1992 at age Shumard assisted flight engeer Wyatt Duzenbury keepg the Enola Gay nng.

He armed the first atomic bomb while the Enola Gay was airborne.

HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON

He was upset that manr Pl Tibbets had named his plane the Enola Gay.

Robert Lewis, -pilot and aircraft manr of the Enola Gay — the B-29 bomber that unleashed the first atomic bomb, Ltle Boy, on the cy of Hiroshima on Aug. “He wasn’t horrified by meetg Capta Lewis, the -pilot of the Enola Gay.

In the early morng hours of Augt 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay took off om Tian and proceed north by northwt toward Japan. Hiroshima time, the Enola Gay released “Ltle Boy” over the cy. Even though the Enola Gay had already flown 11 and a half away om the target after droppg s payload, was rocked by the blast.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

Tibbets, Jr., pilot of the Enola Gay, wav om the ckp before takeoff, Augt 6, 1945. Enola Gay returns after strike at Hiroshima, 1945.

CONTROVERSY OVER THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBN

Read the blog post Harry Tman and the Bomb and the not of Capta Robert Lewis, -pilot of the Enola Gay, to learn more about the first atomic aomb.

HERE’S WHY THE PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS ABOUT DROPPG THE FIRST ATOM BOMB

And the air and ground crews flyg off that hard-won soil to fally reach the heart of the enemy that dared attack the Uned Stat at Pearl plane that dropped the big there was another piece of ary technologil history that some argue had a larger hand endg the war than gets cred for — the B29 Tian was where the famed “Enola Gay” lnched s fateful missn to liver the first A-bomb, was also home to the 6th Bomb Group, which served as ver for the super-secret un also hid the “Enola Gay” for a time, before load s famo payload “Ltle Boy” the first Atomic Bomb dropped war — on Hiroshima, Japan on Augt 6, 6th Bomb Group, part of the Army Air Corps’ 313th Bomb Wg, 20th Air Force, ma to Tian, one of the last Pacific islands a cha leadg to maland Japan, months after Allied forc took the island a battle that lasted jt a few days but claimed more than 5, 000 Japane forc and more than 300 U.

What happened to the Enola Gay after Hiroshima? Tibbets Jr., 30, had handpicked the airplane on the assembly le Nebraska three months before and had jt had his mother’s name, “Enola Gay, ” pated black letters on the the plane mbled down the airstrip at over 100 mph, he had his lucky cigarette se wh him one pocket, and a box ntag 12 cyani psul Aug. Two other B-29s, the “Great Artiste” and “Necsary Evil, ” were supposed to go along to take pictur and rerd “Enola Gay” was the “strike ship.

”Fifteen hundred to the north-northwt, unr a wang crcent moon, lay a 400-year-old Japane cy most Amerins probably had never heard of but whose name was about to be etched to the pag of was an important enemy ary se wh a wartime populatn about 280, 000, acrdg to the historians Gordon Thomas and Max half of them were about to be cerated, cshed, and irradiated by the c atomic weapon named “Ltle Boy” that the Enola Gay of thoands more would die the same way at Nagasaki a few days later, and the world would subsequently be hearg about megatons, mutual assured stctn, proliferatn, nuclear wter, meltdowns and dirty would be the start of a ightful era of weapons that uld fy ntrol and menace as “Dimpl Eight Two” picked up speed that morng, s missn was born of s time: liver a blow that the Uned Stat hoped might fally end the global butchery of World War II. )This week, memoratns are schled across the untry, wh socially distanced ndlelight vigils and the tollg of bells, and bee of the vid-19, ceremoni and remembranc have moved Enola Gay, the Boeg B-29 Superfortrs that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, is seen on display July 29, 2020, at the Steven F.